I'm a bit preoccupied today, so, rather than a standard chapter, here's an example of a one-shot I've been working on. There are a few more like this, but you'll have to wait until the big announcement to learn more xD...
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[The Broken Ones, Chapter 0]
"I will...wait for you..."
Clinging to the body of the woman he had loved and fought alongside for the past thirteen years, anguish beyond description gripped the heart of a young man with raven-black hair and pale-blue eyes.
"I won't keep you-"
Before the man could finish, the woman lying on the ground placed her bloodied fingers over his lips. The light had already faded from her once-vibrant pink eyes, but, despite this, she was able to stare directly into the man's regret-filled expression as she softly muttered, "No...this world still needs you...promise...promise me you won't abandon them..."
Though he would have readily made such a promise a few days prior, the raven-haired man found himself unable to speak due to the overwhelming pain and resentment he was currently experiencing.
With blood pooling in his mouth due to the intensity in which he had been gritting his teeth, the raven-haired man gently squeezed the woman's left hand as he whimpered, "I...promise..."
Smiling in response to the man's words, the woman moved her fingers from his lips to the side of his face, gently tracing a line of blood across his cheek as she weakly cried, "You never were good at lying..."
The moment the woman's words finished, her fingers fell from the man's cheek. Her body, once lively and full of energy, now lay limply within his arms.
Staring into the unfocused eyes of the woman he loved, even greater anguish seized the man's heart. He was able to force a smile near the end, but, much like his promise, it was the furthest thing from sincere.
With tears flowing freely from his face, the raven-haired man reached out to close the eyes of his childhood friend and lover. Due to the smile on her face, it almost appeared as though she were sleeping.
"Even in death, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. If I weren't afraid of leaving you alone in the afterlife, there is nothing in this world that could prevent me from destroying it..."
Punctuating his words, the raven-haired man placed a chaste yet lasting kiss on the woman's forehead. Shortly after that, the spherical barrier he had created to protect her slowly withered away, each of the hexagonal segments resembling ice melting under extreme heat.
Seeing the scene of the raven-haired man cradling what remained of his lover in his arms, the color drained from the face of a priestess with long, silvery-blonde hair and an outfit that was significantly less reserved than one might expect from the High Priestess of the Sacred Order of Light.
"Oh, Gods..."
Hearing the High Priestess's trembling utterance, a fiery light appeared in the raven-haired man's eyes as he gently laid his lover on the ground. Half of her body had been completely destroyed. In place of a lower body, the only thing that remained of the woman was charred, steaming entrails.
"Anastasia..."
Feeling a frigid chill run from her crown to the base of her spine, High Priestess Anastasia took several instinctual steps backward. It had been years since the man referred to her by her full name. He was actually the only one she allowed to call her Anna, so, feeling a sense of dread unlike anything she had ever experienced, Anna clung to her scepter-like staff and muttered, "Caen...I'm so sorry..."
After arranging the hands of his deceased lover over her chest, the raven-haired man, Caen, rose to his feet and said, "Once this battle has finished, we're through. I...we have given everything for the Empire and the Sacred Order of Light. Go back...tell your Gods, the Emperor, and the Archbishop that they can find a new pawn..."
Without waiting for Anna's response, Caen grabbed the hilt of a massive, almost comically oversized sword. The blade alone was more than 180cm in length, yet, as if it weighed absolutely nothing, Caen was able to pick it up with one hand before leaping into the sky like a rocket soaring towards outer space.
At the apex of his jump, tendril-like wings of light, now stained with hints of pitch-black energy, emerged from grooves in Caen's armor. With them, he was able to fly at hypersonic speeds through the sky, his destination a largely destroyed castle formed from black iron, marble, and brimstone.
Located in the depths of the castle, seated atop a large throne that had the upper half sliced away, was a voluptuous woman with long black hair and fiery golden eyes. The curved, blade-like horns framing her head and the segmented tail flowing from behind her back and resting on her thighs gave away her status as a member of the Demon Clan.
Though several bruises and abrasions covered the demoness's body, her beauty was such that she could charm most people with a simple glance. This was largely due to her heritage as a Succubus, but, even more than that, it was the overwhelmingly powerful aura exuding from her body that brought most onlookers to their knees.
Unaffected by the oppressive yet captivating aura, Caen went out of his way to smash through one of the only undamaged segments of the roof. His collision with the ground caused a shockwave and a large plume of dust and debris to spread through the ruined chamber. From within, the radiant blue eyes of Caen could be seen before he casually dispersed the entire cloud of debris with a single swing of his now-luminous holy sword, the Legendary Sword of Promise, Löfte.
"Lilis Marina...you will pay dearly for what you did to Rika..."
Undaunted by Caen's words, Lilis, the Demon Queen of Chaos, rolled her eyes before leaning her cheek against the knuckles of her right hand and remarking, "You massacred my people, destroyed my kingdom, and killed my most cherished and beloved vassals. If I didn't take at least one thing from you before I died, the souls of my people would never be able to find peace..."
Gripping the hilt of his sword, Caen responded to Lilis's words by stepping down with enough force to shake the very foundation of the throne room. At the same time, a runic pattern spread across his right arm as he swept his greatsword in a sweeping arc that appeared to bisect reality itself as it barreled toward and through Lilis's body. She didn't even try to resist, as, unlike the Heroes that had appeared before, Caen was a monster beyond compare.
With her body bifurcated just under her breasts, Lilis slumped forward before falling face-first onto the hard stone floor. Vibrant golden blood flowed from her wounds as a rainbow-hued crystal, half of which was still located in her stomach, unleashed a tremendous volume of mana into the surrounding environment.
Flashing forward at a speed that resembled teleportation, tears flowed from Caen's eyes as he grabbed one of Lilis's horns, twisted his body, and threw her against the furthest wall. The resultant impact sent spiderweb-like cracks from floor to ceiling before Caen's Löfte pierced through her heart and pinned her to the wall.
Appearing less than a few centimeters away from Lilis's face, a steady stream of tears continued to roll down Caen's face as he weakly growled, "Rika didn't deserve this...even until the very end, she never killed a single demon...she was kinder and gentler than anyone. If not for her, you would have died during our last encounter! Why!? Why her...!?"
Raising her head to meet Caen's gaze, a naturally alluring smile gradually took shape on Lilis's face as she asked, "Who knows...? Maybe I resented how she was able to smile and pretend like she had done nothing wrong? She may not have held the blade, but by supporting and healing you, that woman may as well be responsible for the deaths of millions...she...no one deserves to walk away from this happy..."
With her magic core destroyed, the only thing keeping Lilis alive was her desire to see the anguish on Caen's face. Truth be told, she hadn't meant to kill Rika, better known as the Third Imperial Princess, Adrika Von Kroft.
The latter may have supported Caen, but she was also the representative of the faction suing for peace between the Kroft Empire and the Demons of the Planes of Twilight. With her death, any hope of peace between the Alliance of Light and Demonkind had disappeared.
With an ability that allowed him to deduce truth from lies, Caen could tell Lilis wasn't being honest with him. Before he could press her for the truth, however, her head and body slumped forward as the unrepentantly sharp edge of Löfte bisected her like a hot knife through butter. Her two halves ended up striking the stunned Caen, golden blood staining his face and body as she sloughed off of him and onto the ground.
Though the blood of Demons was poisonous to others, Caen's countless Blessings provided him a near-absolute immunity to status afflictions. At least, they were supposed to.
Demonstrating just how shameless they could be, the Gods immediately retracted their Blessings the moment Caen had slain Lilis. They had been observing when he told Anna to return and inform them he was no longer their pawn. Thus, before he could become a threat to the Empire and the Sacred Order, they retracted their Blessings with the intent of letting him die alongside the Demon Queen.
Accompanied by a hissing sound, Caen felt as though his entire body was enveloped in molten gold as Lilis's blood sank into and burned through his flesh. In spite of this, he didn't cry out in pain or agony. Instead, he simply smiled as his once-indomitable strength rapidly drained from his body.
"Sorry, Rika...my mother always told me it was rude to keep a woman waiting...don't worry...once I get to the other side...you can scream and shout at me all you want..."
Feeling more powerless than when he had initially reincarnated into the world of Vega Terre, Caen collapsed to the ground in a heap. The blood soaking the floor was like an acid bath, but, without trying to escape, the corners of his smile curled upward as he closed his eyes and succumbed to a familiar darkness...
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"Welcome back, Mr. Walker. Did you enjoy your time in Vega Terre...?"
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(A/N: Let me know what you guys think. I could really use the feedback.)
Sensing Sarina's return, Vahn poked the cheek of the sleeping, Wu, stating, "It's about time for you to stop lounging about..."
After pretending to be asleep for several seconds, Wu responded to Vahn's words by biting the tip of his index finger. Then, as her emerald-green eyes opened to stare at him, she began to trace her tongue over and around it before suckling it in an overtly sexual manner.
"..."
(*Looks like you acquired yourself another nympho...*)
Ignoring Sis's words, Vahn wiggled his hand a few times, but, as could be expected, Wu refused to release her hold on the tip of his finger. Now that she had formally professed her love, Wu wanted to stay with Vahn until the very end. She understood he had other things going on, but, with such a large number of people watching, she wasn't going to let him give her the boot so easily.
Seeing Wu's expression gradually morph into an increasingly adorable pout, Vahn eventually gave up on trying to dislodge her from his fingertip. It was a little awkward but he decided to just let her do as she pleased. In this particular instance, that meant curling up in his lap and continued to suck on the tips of his fingers as he adjusted the flow of time to allow Sarina to enter the throne room...
Pushing open the massive doors separating the antechamber and control/throne room, Sarina was about to greet Vahn when her settled on the inordinately petite monkey girl curled up in his lap. A look of confusion briefly and slight envy briefly marred her expression, but, after shaking her head, she was able to regain her composure as she reported, "I managed to infiltrate the palace of Meng Zhang but was forced to retreat due to the appearance of a mysterious woman resembling an owl. I observed her for several hours but was unable to discover even a hint of any weaknesses she might possess."
Rather than Vahn, the person that responded to Sarina was Wu, asking, "A woman resembling an owl? Was she wearing a cloak or did she actually have the features of an owl...?"
Though she was slightly taken aback by Wu's interjection, Sarina eventually answered, "She was wearing a cloak..." after seeing Vahn supply a curt nod.
With an expression of genuine surprise, Wu perked up quite a bit as she remarked, "Wow, you're really lucky. If I'm not mistaken, the woman you encountered was Nav, the Queen of Owls. She is one of the top three powerhouses within the Akuma Community. A few years back, she ended up wiping out more than a thousand different Communities in the 6-7-Digit Gates. Several lower-digit Communities tried to step in and deal with her but everyone that dared venture into her 'Forest of Owls' ended up losing their life or disappearing completely."
Though she had never encountered Nav directly, Wu had heard about the woman's exploits from Lady Xiwangmu. The latter loved to gossip, so, whenever Wu stopped by to pilfer peaches, the two would chat about various persons of interest within the Little Garden.
Hearing Wu's explanation, a chill ran through Sarina's body. Nav's rampage had ended long before she was born, but, back when she was still at the orphanage, Sarina remembered hearing an urban legend related to an owl-like woman who had converted a large section of the Little Garden into a haunted forest. She had forgotten the woman's name due to the time she spent in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball, but, now that she was hearing it from Wu, memories of the stories she heard during her childhood came flooding back to her.
Recalling that the Queen of Owls was supposed to be an old Crone with an arched back, twisted face, bone-like fingers, and deathly white hair, Sarina couldn't help asking, "Are you certain that was the Queen of Owls? She didn't seem particularly old..."
While adjusting her position so that her butt was pressed snugly against Vahn's lap, Wu adopted an expression that seemed to say, 'this woman is an idiot' as she asked, "How am I supposed to know for certain if I haven't actually seen her? All I know is that Nav eventually went on to become one of the Big Three of the Akuma Community. I seriously doubt another powerhouse associated with owls would just appear out of thin air. Besides, what does age have to do with anything? You're like fifty-plus yet you don't look a day over nineteen."
Though she wasn't particularly sensitive about her age, Sarina's expression morphed into a resent-filled deadpan as she stared daggers at Wu. She got the impression that Wu was trying to make a fool of her in front of Vahn. Fortunately, just as she was about to say something, Vahn grabbed the tips of Wu's rounded, monkey-like ears as he said, "Don't go out of your way to antagonize others."
Leaning her head back, Wu's eyes squinted in a threatening manner. If he dared to pull on her ears, she would pull on his until they either drooped like an elephant or became detached from his head. Her ears were easily one of the most sensitive parts of her entire body. She also didn't-
Before Wu could even think to issue a threat of her own, Vahn began to gently massage the interior of her ears using his Hands of Nirvana. Sudden and intense pleasure permeated through the nerves in Wu's ears before spreading through her head and running down her spine to the base of her tail. Immediately after that, it was almost like fireworks had been set off in her mind, a dazzling display of light and sound that assaulted the senses and left Wu both mesmerized and disoriented.
Just as Wu felt the imminent surge of a powerful climax, Vahn suddenly released her ears from his grasp. A dazed and confused expression subsequently developed across Wu's face before quickly forming into a pout as she realized the meaning behind his actions.
"You're...playing with fire..."
Instead of a vocal response to Wu's threatening words, Vahn planted a kiss on the top of her head before directing his attention to Sarina and asking, "What do you want to do...?"
Hearing Vahn's words, the glimmer of envy in Sarina's eyes disappeared as she answered, "I want to continue my mission but I can't do it alone. Can you call someone to aid me?"
Nodding his head, Vahn was about to call Kefla when Wu interjected, saying, "We're technically on the same side. As an apology for my previous behavior, I'll go ahead and lend you a hand. No hard feelings, 'kay?"
Though Wu's words sounded remarkably insincere, the fact she had apologized at all left many in the Little Garden at a total loss for words. Wu wasn't the type of person to give ground and admit her mistakes. There were even instances of her beating the people she had offended and wronged until they apologized to her. Thus, while it wasn't nearly as impactful as her confession, hearing her offer even an insincere apology was shocking.
Feeling itchy due to the number of people that were focusing on and thinking about her, Wu began to fidget atop Vahn's lap. In response, he wrapped his arms around her body, gently embracing her tiny frame as a steady stream of calming energy flowed from his body into hers.
Though she would rather Vahn finish what he started previously, a contented sigh escaped Wu's lips before she wriggled out of his embrace for the first time in nearly a full day. She felt a strange sense of emptiness when she was on her own two feet, but, having become accustomed to loneliness, she managed to appear as her usual, confident self as she gazed at Sarina and said, "Lead the way."
Furrowing her brows, Sarina attempted to channel the dignity she believed the Vice-Leader of the Sage Dragon's Hearth needed, stating, "I do not take orders from you. Besides, the whole reason I returned was to 'recharge' and spend a bit of time with Vahn. I wouldn't have come all this way just to tell him something he was already well aware of."
As she spoke, Sarina did her best to maintain a relaxed yet confident posture as she made her way past Wu and over to Vahn. To her surprise, Wu didn't even try to stop her. Instead, she just raised her brows, an ostensibly surprised expression on her face as she followed Sarina's passage with her blazing, emerald-green eyes.
Seeing Sarina sit sideways atop Vahn's lap, Wu would be lying if she said it didn't bother her. The only reason she didn't bonk Sarina over the head with her Ruyi Jingu Bang is because she knew it would make Vahn upset. This, in turn, would make her even more upset, so, for a brief moment, Wu was at a complete loss for what to do.
To Wu's surprise, it was Sarina that broke the silence, asking, "Are you just going to keep standing there, or are you going to join us? I'll have you know I have no intention of leaving within the next four to six hours. If you're not going to join us, you should go take a bath or something."
Thinking Sarina was insulting her, Wu's confusion quickly turned to anger as she asked, "What the hell did you just say?"
Like a prey animal that had just stepped into the line of sight of a predator, Sarina's body became tense enough to rival a statue. Fortunately, Vahn was there to assist, warmth flowing from the hand he had placed on her hip as he clarified, "She was insinuating that you go and relax for a few hours, not that you smell bad.
In response to Vahn's explanation, Sarina nodded her head like a chicken. Wu was still glaring at her, but, moments later, her expression relaxed into an amused smile as she teased, "You're pretty skittish, aren't you? Is this big sister really that scary~?"
To Wu's surprise, Sarina promptly decided that she simply wasn't going to respond. She was still feeling a little unnerved after her encounter with the Queen of Owls, so, now that she was seated atop Vahn's lap, Sarina took advantage of the situation to lean against his body and rest her head against his chest...
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While continuing to capture and crush countless insect-like golems, Chronoa also took the time to analyze the one she had placed into stasis.
Despite resembling a cockroach formed of earthen materials, the interior structure of the golem was a lot more advanced than Chronoa had expected. Whoever created was clearly a skilled Mage, but, as one of the most gifted Mages in her entire verse, its secrets were not beyond Chronoa's abilities to probe.
"The secret appears to lay in these crystals. Their interior structure is remarkably similar to a highly advanced computer. I bet I could reprogram them..."
Though the insectoid golems were nothing compared to the nanite-sized microgolems produced by Da Vinci, Chronoa wasn't particularly well acquainted with Vahn's most intelligent lover. The two had been introduced to one another, but, the moment Chronoa set eyes on Da Vinci, she knew they would never get along.
Chronoa didn't know if others were aware of it or simply chose to ignore it, but, as someone that had spent more than a hundred million years observing others, she could tell that the only things Da Vinci truly cared about were Vahn and whatever invention she happened to be working on. She was capable of appearing perfectly genial when speaking to others, but, deep within the woman's mesmerizing eyes, Chronoa could sense an emotion similar to disdain. With the exception of Vahn, Da Vinci didn't really seem to care about anyone in the Sage Dragon's Hearth.
Believing that Vahn was well aware of Da Vinci's quirks, Chronoa had never broached the subject. She had a lot of introspective thoughts regarding the other women in Vahn's harem, but, fearing she would create unnecessary drama, she simply bottled them up. A hundred million years of living alone had left her with a number of her own quirks, so, as long as people like Seraphina or Da Vinci didn't go out of their way to cause trouble, Chronoa would do her best to tolerate their existence.
As far as Chronoa could tell, this was how most of the women in Vahn's harem dealt with the girls they didn't like...
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Wu is a mischievous monkey...','Spooky...','Chronoa gives off the impression of a gossipy yet introverted housewife xD...')
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